There I was, on deadline, Sunday afternoon, with content to send to a client by 6 o’clock. “Hi! I’m behind schedule right now. I’ll have this to you by 7.” I sent my client. “No problem. I’ll be ready at 7.” He responded. Shit shit shit. I’m starting to stress. I’m worried. What if this…
Tag: motherhood
Where the Light Shines In: I’m Not Afraid to Break
“Happiness is a choice.” I say to myself and anyone else who will listen. “Believe you can have it, and you can have it.” I repeat on a regular basis. “The most important relationship you can have is with yourself.” I remind myself and the women in my women’s circle. “Don’t be afraid to break….
I Don’t Play With My Kids: Wild and Free
“Mama will you play with me?” My six year old daughter has been asking me this question for the last three years, since I stopped “playing” with her toward the end of her toddlerhood. I taught her to play, I encouraged her imagination, I provided her with all the necessary resources, and then I let…
Free Range Parenting: I Am Just a Guide
I have always been an advocate of free range parenting, the parent who provides very wide boundaries within which children are free to roam about and explore. And for the most part, for six years, I have been a free range parent. Sure, I hovered a lot when Celaya was very small. It took me…
How to Be Happy: Figuring It Out and Not Giving Up
Figuring out how to be happy can be difficult; it can feel pointless on bad days; it can feel impossible after a long stretch of sadness or resentment. It also doesn’t help that the world is either bombarding us with “don’t worry! be happy!” exhortations or shaming us for trying to be happy: “no one…
Letting Go of Fear: Our Road Trip to Monterey
*this article contains an affiliate link to the book The Universe Has Your Back. If you click on the link and make any purchase through Amazon, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. I would highly recommend this book, so if you do buy it, thank you for trusting my…
A Vacation in My Own Home: Why I Unplugged
I was on deadline Friday night. I stayed up until 2AM writing for a client to push to get it all done. I had already extended the deadline far too many times, and I knew if I didn’t get all the writing done before bed, it would spill into the next week. Why? My daughter’s…
Adolescent Freedom: Giving My Children What I Never Had
“Ugh, I know, I know.” My mother sighs, on her recent trip here for the New Year. “I was a horrible mother, and I didn’t protect you. I think I’m ready for some tequila now.” She was, kind of, being dramatic. And also kind of not. It is true that she didn’t protect me from…
A Mother’s Task: Life Through the Eyes of My Child
Easily one of the most important jobs I take on as a mother is to see life through the eyes of my child. I don’t know that I ever tried to walk in anyone else’s shoes before I met my husband. I’m not saying I was a bad person per se; I did a lot…
What the Health? The Emotional Labor of Motherhood
A writer friend of mine has been talking a lot on social media about the emotional labor of motherhood. Recently, she added an essay to her website as a culmination of her ideas and how she plans to tackle this heavy burden. I mostly agree with her points, and on a few points I disagree….